


My Heart's Beating Like A Steamboat Tugging

by Kapua



Series: Just the Beating of Hearts (Flash Challenge) [10]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: F/F, Yennaia Flash Fiction Challenge (The Witcher), soft fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25961758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kapua/pseuds/Kapua
Summary: After being recruited to come back to Aretuza, Yennefer sneaks into Tissaia's office at 3am and unexpectedly finds the Rectoress still there...fast asleep. She decides a conversation about the merits of not working yourself to death is in order.
Relationships: Tissaia de Vries/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Series: Just the Beating of Hearts (Flash Challenge) [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1878580
Comments: 16
Kudos: 81





	My Heart's Beating Like A Steamboat Tugging

**Author's Note:**

> Done for an anon prompt on tumblr as part of the flash fic challenge!

Yennefer creeps towards Tissaia's office door, holding her breath when she hears a faint sound from an adjacent hallway. She reaches the imposing oak door and tries the handle, smiling a little when she finds it unlocked. She slips inside and shuts the door carefully behind her, breathing a sigh of relief at being safely in the room.

That exhale turns into a choked gasp as she turns around and sees that Tissaia is seated at her desk. Yennefer's adrenaline spikes before she realizes several things at once: first, that Tissaia is sound asleep, her arms cushioning her head from the unforgiving wood of the desk, a burned-out candle by one elbow. Second, even by the pale moonlight coming in through the window, Yennefer can see the faint lines on the smaller woman's forehead as she frowns, murmuring quietly in her sleep. 

Soft is not a word that she would normally use to describe Tissaia, but seeing the Rectoress curled in her chair makes something quiet unfurl in Yennefer's chest. Her original mission in coming to snoop through Tissaia's office in the middle of the night is forgotten, though her curiosity about why the other woman has looked so drawn and tired these past few days is sated regardless. She'd been worried there was some looming threat on the horizon, but it appears that the only problem is Tissaia's overactive work ethic.

She watches Tissaia for a while longer, tempted to let her get what is clearly much-needed rest, but she knows the smaller woman will regret sleeping with her neck at that angle in the morning. So she stretches her mind out, letting it gently brush against Tissaia's to ease her awake. The last thing she wants to do is startle her, and she quickly retreats when she feels Tissaia slowly come to consciousness.

"Yennefer?" she murmurs, sitting up and rubbing a hand over her eyes. "What are you doing here this late?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Yennefer says with a shrug. 

Tissaia sighs and leans back in her chair, looking even more exhausted now that she's awake. "Sometimes being Rectoress requires late nights. Now, why are you in my office in the middle of the night?"

"I was worried." It's the truth, but it's also skirting dangerously close to the swirl of emotions that have lain unspoken between them ever since Yennefer agreed to come back to Aretuza. She remembers the look in Tissaia's eyes when she'd asked, and the answering flutter in her chest at the knowledge that the smaller woman had come to ask _her_ , and no one else, to return. 

She'd said yes probably a little too quickly, but there's been no time to further consider why that was in the months since. There have been few occasions where she and Tissaia are alone, and she's abruptly aware that this is the closest they've been in some time. Tissaia is looking at her curiously, and Yennefer coughs awkwardly. 

"You should really stop working so late," she mumbles, trying to hide the thoughts spinning through her head--about how gorgeous Tissaia is, how easy it would be to close the distance between them and kiss her, wondering whether the other woman feels the pull between them or if this attraction is one-sided.

"It's sweet of you to be concerned," Tissaia says, "But there's no need. I'll go to sleep shortly."

Yennefer rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. "Sleeping on your desk doesn't count. Now, do I need to take you to bed myself to ensure that you actually sleep?"

Something flits across Tissaia's face too quickly for Yennefer to comprehend, and then the smaller woman is arching a brow and drawling, "If you took me to bed, darling, I don't imagine there would be much sleeping involved." 

And gods, there's a _smirk_ hinting at the corners of her mouth as she says it, and Yennefer feels like the temperature just jumped twenty degrees. She's not sure if it's the sleep deprivation or just the unexpectedness of their encounter that has Tissaia in such an unguarded mood, but she wants more, wants to be allowed to see this side of the woman all of the time. 

But her silence drags on for just a moment too long, because Tissaia's face settles into a frown and she sighs. "I'm sorry, Yennefer, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable--"

"No!" Yennefer cuts her off with a shout before wincing and lowering her volume. "No, I mean--you didn't make me uncomfortable." The hopeful gleam in Tissaia's eyes gives her the courage to force the next words out. "Quite the opposite, actually." 

The tension hanging between them somehow eases while simultaneously ratcheting higher, and Yennefer shakes her head with a throaty chuckle. If it's flirting Tissaia wants, well, she can certainly oblige. "Besides," she says with a smirk of her own, "You're right. I've waited so long to have you in my bed that I can guarantee there would be very little sleep involved."

Tissaia's eyes darken. "Then why wait any longer?"

And _fuck_ , is this what being responsible means? Yennefer nearly groans as she sighs. "Because you really do need to sleep, Tissaia. Preferably for more than an hour at a time, and in a bed."

Tissaia opens her mouth to argue, but a yawn overtakes her before she can say anything. She scowls but relents. "Fine. You may have a point." 

"I know I do," Yennefer says with a cocky grin. "Now go, before I exhaust what's left of my self control."

The smaller woman is almost out the door when Yennefer calls after her.

"Wait!"

Tissaia turns around and looks at her questioningly, and Yennefer lets her eyes drag up and down the woman's body before she says, "Perhaps tomorrow, when you're sufficiently rested, we can revisit this conversation?"

And the way that Tissaia's cheeks barely flush is _everything_ as she nods and bites her lip.

"Perhaps we can."

**Author's Note:**

> Yell at me and send me more prompts in the comments or on tumblr @kapuahiwahiwa!


End file.
